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Thursday, October 09, 2008

Crockpot Recipe for Vegetarian Black Bean and Tomatillo Soup with Lime and Cilantro

My Dad loved this Vegetarian Black Bean and Tomatillo Soup!

This is a recipe that I came up with in late August, in anticipation of the possibility that having braces might seriously change my eating habits. Although it's true braces have made some of my favorite foods seem like more trouble than they're worth, this soup is worth making even if you don't have a newly-developed fondness for soft foods. The starring ingredient here, and one that makes this a good candidate for Weekend Herb Blogging, is the tomatillos, which my garden is still producing like crazy. Tomatillos are a member of the nightshade family, along with tomatoes and eggplant. Also called "tomato verde," they're an ingredient in many Southwestern or Mexican dishes. And since the host for this Week's Edition of Weekend Herb Blogging is Susan from The Well Seasoned Cook, and since she has a long-running legume love affair, it seems fitting that there are also black beans in the soup. Here is the new Weekend Herb Blogging index page with all the information you need to participate if you've been cooking with some type of herb or unusual plant ingredient this week.

Tomatillos can be used as soon as they fill out the papery husk, but if you get a bit behind schedule on picking them, they'll start to burst out of the husks, like this. Try to use them when they're still bright green, as they lose a lot of their tart citrus flavor when they turn yellow.

I wanted the tomatillos to be quite finely chopped here, so I cut slices, then cut the slices into strips, and then into small cubes about 1/4 inch square.

You could probably skip this step, but before I put them in the crockpot, I sauteed the tomatillos in olive oil with some minced garlic.

Crockpot Recipe for Vegetarian Black Bean and Tomatillo Soup with Lime and Cilantro
(Makes about 6 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

Chop onions and tomatillos into pieces about 1/4 inch. Heat olive oil in large frying pan, then saute onions and tomatillos about 5 minutes, then add garlic, dried cilantro, Mexican Oregano, and cumin and saute 1-2 minutes more. While vegetables saute, dump beans into a colander placed in the sink and rinse until no more foam appears.

Put tomatillo-onion mixture into large 4-5 quart crockpot. (I used a 5 1/2 quart crock pot, but it was not completely full.) Add beans, tomatoes with juice, chicken stock, water, and brown rice. Cook on high for 4 hours (This could also be cooked on low for 8 hours.) Slow cookers can vary, so check and adjust the cooking time accordng to how hot your crockpot gets.)

After 4 hours (or 8 hours if using low) turn the crockpot to low setting, and let it cook 15 minutes to lower the temperature, then add the fresh lime juice and cilantro and cook 10 minutes on low. Serve hot, with additional chopped cilantro for garnish if desired.

This recipe could be cooked on the stove. Follow directions above, but put ingredients into medium sized soup pot and add one cup more water. Cook at very low simmer for about one hour, then reduce heat for five minutes, then add lime juice and cilantro and simmer five minutes more.

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34 comments:

This looks great! There's a wonderful organic produce market on the corner across the street from my apartment. It's very pricey but they sell great local fruit and veggies in season. They had tomatillos recently and I was dying to try a recipe with them!

Lucky you, to have so many tomatillos in your harvest! I love tomatillo salsa, and also like to mix the salsa into black bean soup and beef stew. And I'm always looking for new ways to use my slow cooker, so I'm bookmarking this recipe.

Hi Kalyn!First - I'm a huge fan, have been following for a number of months now, thanks for all your great recipes!Second - can I sub in an alternate for tomatillos in this recipe? They are a touch hard to find in my neighbourhood, or could I do a lesser amount of them + fresh tomatoes?Thoughts? Thank you!!-cj

Thanks guys, I think tomatillos are so fun to exeriment with. There isn't really anything else that tastes the same, although the canned ones are very close in flavor. You could make the soup with tomatoes, but the tart flavor of the tomatillos does add a lot. I'd try to find the canned ones.

I made this yesterday, and everyone in the family, even the picky eaters, loved it. I added some cubed boneless pork roast seasoned with cumin, salt, and coriander and briefly sauteed. It was even better with a splash of Crystal hot sauce at the dinner table.

This looks great. This reminds me, I think I asked you in a previous comment on a post if you thought it would be possible to grow tomatillos in pots. I can't remember now which post it was. So, I'll ask again (sorry!), do you think they would grow okay in pots?

Pam, I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't grow in pots, since they're similar to tomatoes. Just remember you need to have two of them close together. They'll need more water in pots, but I think they should grow just fine.

Padma, yaaay. I'm so excited to get the methi seeds. The tomatillos are quite tart, almost sour tasting but really a good flavor. I like them a lot. Some people think they taste a little like green tomatoes but I think the flavor is much better.

pssteve, I can only imagine that the Rancho Gordo beans would make this soup even better. I bought some once when I was in California and now wish I could get them here, but can't justify paying shipping. Good idea to add chili powder too!

What size cans did you use for the tomatoes? I bought two 28oz cans but I wasn't sure if you meant two 14.5oz cans. Going to try to make this tonight - don't have a crock pot but from the sounds of it, it will still be yummy.

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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